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Inertia Friction Welding

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Inertia Friction Welding Video

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Inertia Friction Welding has been a core technology at MTI since the company was founded in 1976. Today, we are one of the world's leading authorities on friction welding, and are proud to offer the widest range of Inertia Friction Welding machines. The world's largest friction welding equipment is designed and built by MTI at our facility in South Bend, Indiana. MTI has delivered several Inertia Friction Welders with a maximum weld force of 4,500,000 pounds.

Process Overview

Inertia Friction Welding is one of three basic types of rotational friction welding, the other two being Direct Drive and Radial. Friction welding, in general, is a Solid State Process as it does not cause melting of the parent material during the welding process. This welding process converts rotational kinetic energy into heat, which combines with axial load to create a forged quality joint.

In the Inertia Friction Welding cycle, one work piece is attached to a flywheel, and the other piece is held stationary. The flywheel is accelerated by a drive motor to a predetermined speed (RPM), which corresponds to a specific energy level, storing the required kinetic energy. Upon reaching speed, the drive motor is disengaged and the work pieces are forced together by forge load. The friction between the two pieces converts the kinetic energy stored in the rotating flywheel into heat at the weld interface. The weld is complete when the rotation stops. Heating and welding times are usually very short.

In most applications, Inertia Friction Welding uses a single weld pressure. In a process known as two-stage Inertia Friction Welding, an increase in load, known as "upset pressure," may be applied before rotation stops. Inertia Friction Welding has nearly unlimited applications and has been used by MTI to weld aircraft and space components and hazardous waste canisters.

Advantages & Benefits of Inertia Friction Welding

Inertia Friction Welding has a broad range of applications across the manufacturing industry.

  • Strong welds for all geometries
    No matter what type of weld interface configuration you need - combinations of tubes, bars, plates, discs, etc. - Inertia Friction Welding produces strong, consistent joints and allows you to develop complex parts that would otherwise be difficult or cost-prohibitive to create.
  • Narrowest heat affected zones among rotational friction welding applications
    More parent material properties are retained in joints with narrower heat affected zones - leading to more uniform properties throughout the part, higher joint efficiencies, and stronger welds.
  • Short weld times save you time and money
    Fast cycle times mean that more parts can be welded in less time. Using submerged arc welding, a large diameter cylinder rod can take upwards of 20 minutes to weld - with Inertia Friction Welding, joining takes less than five minutes.
  • Increased mechanical strength due to helical flow of weld
    In Inertia Friction Welding, the use of a flywheel causes a helical flow pattern in the joint. This increases the joint's mechanical strength and the part's overall material strength.
  • Easy to manage with only two quality control parameters - RPM and Pressure
    Because RPM and Pressure are machine controlled, the Inertia Friction Welding process is uniformly consistent and independent of the operator's skill level. No other welding process has as few control variables, making quality control, monitoring and troubleshooting much easier, faster, and cost effective.
  • Pre-calculable parameters allow process to be mathematically scaled
    Because energy, load and weld area have an exact mathematical relationship, we can build and run feasibility tests on reduced scale models at less cost and with less risk. MTI sold the world's first 2,000-ton Inertia Friction Welder by demonstrating sub-scale components on a 450-ton machine - saving our client time while maximizing their investment dollars and reducing their R&D risk.

MTI's Advanced Technology Inertia Friction Welders

With hundreds of patents, ongoing research and development, and more than 30 years of experience, MTI sets the standard for value-added features that maximize your Inertia Friction Welding processes.

Inertia Friction Welders from MTI offer these value-added features:

  • Automation
  • Flash Removal
  • Enhanced Upset Control through Torque Modulation
  • Improved Length Control through Dynamic Profile Modification
  • Advanced Radial Orientation Capability through our Proprietary Control System
  • Manufacturing Cell Integration (including Material Handling, Automatic Loading and Unloading, Robot Integration, Flash Removal, Bar Coding, Quality Control, and Part Destruction)
  • Custom Design Machine Diagnostics and Maintenance Schedule for Full Preventive Maintenance
  • Custom Applications